Guns and Alchemy
by Kouya-chan
Summary: Before Hawkeye, there was Blayne... and then there was Aryn. A story of two rivals, wielding very different weapons, in a game of oneupmanship. Set before the events in Full Metal Alchemist, and before Roy met Riza.
1. Chapter 1: Breaking and Entering

Disclaimer: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist, any of the characters, settings, or anything else. Unfortunately.

((Note: This story is a joint effort with a friend of mine. Any grammar issues are probably on her part. n.n Kidding. Kind of, anyway. I've tried to preserve it as she wrote it, grammar, spelling, and all. Oh, yeah. We're writing it on paper. I'm transferring it here for your enjoyment.))

A rain of bullets embedded themselves in an impromptu wall composed of pieces of other walls. A split second later, a tongue of flame scorched through the blockade, followed by a troop of soldiers, who sent another volley towards the fleeing figure. They again met a barrier that tore from the very walls of the hallway, and the cycle continued.

The girl (young woman, really) being pursued laughed, flinging up another wall to stop the projectiles following her. The alchemy circles inscribed on her shoes glowed with every stride, generating the energy to create the walls that kept her from her victims.

And victims they were. For tucked inside her standard military-issue blue coat was Roy Mustang's pair of ignition gloves, her greatest catch so far. Even though she didn't know whether or not they were the only ones in existence, their material was extremely expensive. People would pay highly for that, more for one of the military's "secret" weapons, and most for something considered a trademark of the famed Roy Mustang. It was just a bonus that she got to tick off her nemesis.

Absorbed in gloating thoughts, a sudden explosion to her left, along with a cloud of plaster and chunks of debris, sent her sprawling. Coughing, she deepened her voice slightly, and said, "Idiots! They went that way!" She saluted quickly and pointed back the way she had come. The vague figures of other soldiers swore and started back down the hallway, brushing her roughly as they passed. Once the settling cloud had mostly concealed them, she leaned against the wall and activated her alchemy circles. An arch appeared behind her, and she swiftly stepped through, and then allowed it to close.

The cool early morning air whipped her short bronze hair beneath the blue hat. It was very early morning, around three, as she had wanted to get the gloves when Mustang wasn't wearing them. The grounds outside were bustling with soldiers and guns, all looking for the intruder. Playful green eyes scanned the area, looking for a way out. Finding none, she crouched behind a shrubbery and drew an array on the ground, one for strong transmutation.

With the circle's activation, a tunnel grew in the lawn beside her, big enough to crawl through. She scrambled in headfirst, just in time to hear someone shout, "Hey!"

From her position on hands and knees, she tapped her heel against the tunnel wall. It sealed shut, and she started crawling.


	2. Chapter 2: First Meetings

The air was freezing in the tunnel, and it wasn't long before her hands became very cold. Half of her wanted to put them into her new gloves, but the other part told her she had worked too hard for her to stain them with dirt. So she kept crawling.

It must have been more than fifteen minutes later that she crawled. There was nothing but dirt, rocks, and roots, until, several paces in front of her, the roof of the tunnel collapsed. She was sick of things almost falling on her: first the wall, now this. Frustrated, she yelled, "What now!"

Completely unexpectedly, a voice yelled back, "I don't know! I was just walking along a stupid alley, and fell in a freaking hole! What genius put this here, anyway!"

"Who is this?" the girl yelled, getting prepared to create a turn in her tunnel as an escape.

"The person who just fell in a hole! Who is this?"

The girl made no reply as she twisted herself around into her new route. Several feet later, dirt began snowing from the ceiling, followed by some metal clicking sounds. She had a split second to be confused until someone broke through from the surface and landed on top of her, swiftly pinning her down.

Blinded by the early morning light, it took the girl several blinks before she realized she was being held down by another girl. Her shoulders were being pinned by guns, one held in each of the other's hands. Her attacker had long blonde hair with small random braids on parts of it. She was clad in dark colors, and her style wouldn't look out of place in the slums of Central. Her bright, icy blue eyes were playful, assuming she had the upper hand.

_She can't recognize me in the uniform._ The other girl thought, already with an escape plan prepared. Still keeping her expression of sincere surprise, she inwardly smiled as the blonde spoke.

"What a military dog was doing underground, I don't know, but think twice before you go digging-"

"Hello Aryn," the girl cut her off as she twisted her leg free and gave her foe a sharp kick to the side. Aryn doubled over, swearing. The girl, faintly thankful she hadn't pulled the triggers, scrambled away on all fours, staggered to her feet, and started to run. Several strides later, she found herself on the ground once again, but not under Aryn's guns.


	3. Chapter 3: Stolen Property

Instead, she craned her neck backwards to see a large dog-like creature. Its fur was oil black, feathers as dark as its fur growing along its spine and tail. The strangest thing about it was the tiny wings that sprouted from its shoulders, covered in the same feathers. Although it probably wasn't trying to, its sharp claws pierced through her uniform and into her back.

"I forgot about this thing," she mumbled to herself. More loudly she added, "You need to learn some new tricks!"

With that, she struggled to move her legs to activate the alchemy circles, but the dog had pinned them down with its own hind paws. She swore quietly. She hated having to sink this low. Twisting her head to the ground, she flicked out her tongue and licked the ground. In seconds a large pillar flew out of the side of one of the gray buildings and rammed into the side of the beast. With a yelp, it was sent flying into the opposing wall, crashing though a window. Freed, the girl clicked her foot against the ground harder than she intended to, raising a thick stone wall between Aryn and her.

"Dammit Blayne!" she heard Aryn shout as she tore out of the alley. When she reached the streets, she dusted herself off, adjusted her hat, and attempted a casual walk in the empty street. She slipped her hands into her pockets and stopped dead in her tracks. The gloves were gone.

How Aryn had managed to slip her hands into her pockets, Blayne didn't know. What she did know was that now she had to track Aryn down. _Again._


	4. Chapter 4: Max's Box

Blayne's cry of frustration carried to Aryn's ears as she jogged away, only making her smile wider. Sure, she had some new bruises from the encounter, but she also got Roy Mustang's ignition gloves. She had no idea how to use them, of course (she'd tried clapping, rubbing, and even saying 'activate'), but she could always sell them. But first, she had to get Maximillian.

Her jog slowed as she neared the door into the building. Slipping in and taking the thin iron stairs two at a time, she reached the desired level and dashed down the narrow hallway. Eventually she came to a large glass window with a vaguely dog-shaped hole in it. The opposite wall had a large dent as well, but her chimera was nowhere to be seen.

"Max," Aryn hissed, hoping not to awaken the inhabitants in the building (even though they must have been sound sleepers, as the crash hadn't woken them). "Max, where are you?"

There was silence, then some footsteps in one of the rooms, door slightly ajar. Sure enough, Maximillian was on the bed scratching at a strongbox laden with locks. Spotting his master he looked up, tail wagging and tiny wings beating excitedly. With an eye roll and a quick look around the room, Aryn slumped beside him. She flicked out a stiff wire and in a matter of seconds the first lock was open.

Aryn was about to pick the next lock when she noticed the box was covered in alchemy circles, extremely complex ones at that.

"Well, that's weird." Aryn shook the box and heard no coins. It was also surprisingly light. She turned to Max. "What do you think? Should we just leave it?"

The chimera snorted, not understanding and not interested in the wooden box anymore.

"Well, I'll just take it with then. We'll sell it as an antique." With that, Aryn tucked the strongbox under her thin arm and slipped back into the hallway, Max right behind her. Neither of them noticed that there was an extremely serious conversation taking place between several State alchemists just in the kitchen. Aryn had left just before one of them went into the room to retrieve the box.


	5. Chapter 5: In Pursuit of Sushi

Stakeout. Blayne sat on the ground, albeit on a pillow, with her back against a wall, and waited. Irritably she rolled a piece of sushi between her fingers, all the while watching the doorway. One of Aryn's weaknesses was this restaurant- it had the only good sushi in town.

Sushi was a new fad, from a land across the ocean. Many places had tried to copy it, but so far only this one succeeded. Whenever Aryn had money, and sometimes when she didn't, she came here.

Blayne, knowing the State would be looking for someone of her description, had taken precautions. Her hair was highlighted golden (she had tucked all the highlighted strands under the hat earlier), she had put on quite a bit of makeup, and heeled boots added a few inches to her height. Her hair had also been yanked into a miniscule high pony, and she wore a sleeveless, black, formfitting shirt with laces at the neck, along with moderately tight jeans- a far cry from the girl in the State uniform.

Even though the sushi was delicious, Blayne was getting bored. She wondered if the other thief was even going to show up. Just when she was about to get a nosebleed from impatience, though, a suspicious figure slunk in. She dropped her face to the sushi bite and conducted a scan through her eyelashes. Baggy clothes- check. The person might have been a boy, from all you could tell by the cargo pants and long-sleeved t-shirt. Hat- check. Aryn was rarely without a hat, and this one had a face-shadowing brim. Blonde hair- check. The other had made an attempt to cover the hair with the hat, but due to incompetence, blonde showed around the edges. Aryn almost never put her hair up. But there was one last thing- as the person looked up slightly to take a menu from the waitress, Blayne caught a glimpse of a pale, finely boned chin. Definitely Aryn the glowstick twig. So white she glowed in the dark.

She stood up and walked over, then dropped onto a cushion on the opposite side of the table. After looking at Aryn for a moment, she laid both hands on the table and said in a conversational tone, "I believe you have something that belongs to me."

"'Scuze me?" The hat came off, revealing- not Aryn. Blayne had never seen a face like that on a boy, but the deeper voice and shaggy golden-blonde haircut left no doubt. He seemed to be a year or two older than she was. With an obvious scan of her body, he smirked and said, "I might. What's it worth to you?"

Embarrassed and disgusted, she almost stood up and left, but she caught the barest glimpse of blue through the window. Doing a double take, she realized that a troop of State soldiers were headed towards the restaurant and jumped to her feet. But a slim figure in a t-shirt and cargo pants, shoulder-length pale blonde hair unbound, brushed past her, unrecognizing: Aryn. If she was here, then the military must be after her, Blayne realized. Maybe getting Aryn caught by the State would be the best alternative, but she couldn't get caught herself. No way would she give Mustang that. _Shit. I've gotta hide._


	6. Chapter 6: The Imposter

"Come here. I'll hide you." Blayne hadn't noticed that she had spoken aloud until the guy indicated the area beside him and spoke. Immediately she knew what he was thinking, and that it would probably work. And she hated it. Firmly she told herself to think of it as method acting. Noting that Aryn headed into the kitchen, she sat down beside him. Urgently he pulled her so that she was leaning against him and kissed her cheek just as the first soldier walked through the door.

Sticking a smile on her face, she brought her lips right next to his ear and breathed, "Do anything worse than that and I'll kill you."

In kind he replied, "You're in no position to demand anything. I could just turn you in right now." His tongue flicked out and licked the curve of her ear. She barely held herself back from flinching, because that would have messed up the alchemy circle that she was meticulously engraving into the floor with her thumbnail.

Sure enough, the eyes of the entering troopers moved right over her, some in disgust and others in amusement. The entire restaurant had quieted, but not stopped altogether. The clients were still eating and the waitresses were still serving, but all were casting nervous glances at the soldiers.

The alchemy circle completed, Blayne activated it and sealed the two doors leading from the kitchen to outside. The only other way out of the kitchen was through the dining room. The blonde was distracting, especially when he traced the curve of one of her breasts with his finger. She almost snapped and bit the finger off, but the will to avoid capture won out.

She ignored him for the most part, even though at times it was difficult. Channeling the alchemy that far away, to something she couldn't even see, took all of her concentration. However, she was rewarded with the thud of a body hitting a wooden door forcefully. A genuine smile lit up her face, but it dropped a few notches when she brought her attention back to what her tablemate was doing. She did bite him that time.


	7. Chapter 7: Ride, Courtesy of Mustang

Angry and panting, Aryn glared at the door. It refused to open. She drew a gun and fired a single shot, knowing it would bring the soldiers, but she had to find out. Sticking a finger into the clear hole through the door, she felt what she had guessed: a wall blocking it from opening. Either the state had brought an alchemist along or-

"Blayne," she muttered darkly, followed by a string of curses that sent the three remaining cooks scrambling into the safety of the pantry. The kitchen was big enough that they hadn't minded when she came in to hide, but once her gun came out, most disappeared into the pantry.

Suddenly her ears caught the softest of sounds, footsteps and an occasional clink. Whirling, she had the other gun out and a shot through the doorway before the soldiers could raise their guns. One dropped his gun and swore, his hand bleeding where the bullet had nicked him. The others opened fire. Aryn dove behind a counter. Knowing they would try to surround her, she took a quick breather before tensing her muscles and crossing her arms, each with a gun, over her chest. Then she smiled.

With a yell, she threw herself from her protection into a handless somersault, guns blazing to either side. Immediately after completion she rose to her feet and started running, one gun firing into the mass of soldiers trying to hit her and the other gun shattering the glass of a window. A State bullet caught her in the thigh. She swore, but vaulted through the broken window anyway. The glass remnants dug through her palm in a jagged, sticky line as she landed in a crouch, adrenaline temporarily subduing the pain. She stood to start running…

Hands grabbed her, twisting her arms painfully and causing her to drop the guns. She was forced back down, kneeling on the broken glass. Even her head was made to bow. She couldn't see, but she knew- damn military dogs.

Abruptly the hands holding her head down were removed, though she was still pinned by some hands and feet. There was a concerted shout of "Sir!" She looked up to though a curtain of blonde hair to see a blue-garbed figure looking down at her. Black hair could barely be made out, but his eyes were shadowed by another of those stupid hats. His voice was calm, thoughtful, and slightly deep, but bore a hint of- amusement?

"Well, it's not Blayne, but well done anyway."

"Thank you, sir!" the soldiers replied briskly, then unceremoniously hustled Aryn out to the waiting trucks.


	8. Chapter 8: Reason and Unreason

When the first shots were heard, the blonde boy merely picked Blayne up and carried her outside, despite her protests and efforts to escape. She wasn't small (far from it, in fact), but he seemed to find it easy nonetheless. They were part of a stream of clients and staff who had no wish to be anywhere near a shootout. Some looked happy to not have to pay.

He set her down in the mouth of an alley across the street, and watched with amusement as she glared at him with several emotions chasing each other across her face. The roulette wheel settled on annoyance. "How the hell did you do that? I thought your arms would snap like twigs. You don't look like much. Do you work out like crazy or something?" He was able to detect a near-perfectly concealed not of amazement in her voice.

In answer, he took off one thin black glove and rolled up his sleeve slightly. His right arm was automail. With a smile, he replaced the glove, leaned over and kissed her full on the lips for a brief moment. Blayne could only stare as he said, I'll see you later," and started to walk away. Then she recovered herself and yelled, "I don't even know your name, you pervert!"

Concealing a smile at the outrage her voice had, he turned around and pulled something out of his cargo pocket. He held it up where she could see- a silver pocketwatch with the State's logo on it. The look on her face changed to absolute shock and bafflement. "Colonel Kyle Harris, State Alchemist." He dropped the watch, letting it dangle from a belt loop and sparkle brightly in the sun. Then he turned away and resumed walking. "I've no love for Roy Mustang... Blayne."

She could only stare in blantant incredulity as he turned down a side road and left her sight.


End file.
